Remember that ATX power supply that I fried last year? I replaced it with another mail-ordered supply and then it sat on the shelf long enough for me to get around to fixing it: a new regulator, some MOVs, a cap and the fuse, and it was ready for action — except I had no computer to install it in. I kind of doubt that I’ll build another tower form-factor computer, so I turned it into a high current bench power supply.
It has to be more than ten years since I’ve done this, and I believe the last time I didn’t even have an ATX supply. At that time, supplies needed a hefty load to get going and remain stable. I recall using a car headlight. Literally: an old-style (maybe halogen?) automotive headlight. I reviewed a couple videos on the subject to see what people were doing with more recent supplies and found one that I liked and more or less followed.